I realized something the other day: one of the things I miss the most about childhood is that certain things you need in life, certain things you never want and would never get for yourself, would just magically appear when you need them. In my case, a toothbrush. No one, child or adult, wants to buy a toothbrush. And when you're a kid, you can casually mention you need one, or not notice but someone else does, and BAM! New toothbrush where your old one was, like magic.

But when you're an adult, you realize you need a new toothbrush, so you have to make an excursion to the nearest store that sells them, be briefly dazzled by the sheer array of options, gasp in horror as you realize the price of the average toothbrush, then finally select one that's the right size, shape, color, and bristle strength for your oral hygiene needs based on your mouth shape, hand shape, teeth's current condition, age, blood type, astrological sign, and finally personal preference. Then you check out, realizing that all those little things you like to treat yourself to? You're not buying them today. You're buying a fucking toothbrush.

Then you go and buy some booze and porn to remind yourself that being an adult is still worth it. Sure, I may be up one toothbrush, but at WHAT COST?!

I've been feeling bits of that lately, this nostalgia for a childhood that wasn't so long ago that I've forgotten that 75% of it was, in fact, shit. But that 25% that wasn't bad was the security of watching my favorite TV shows with my family and having someone else fix dinner and pay for my toothbrush.